The Five Year Journey
by Marc Roland
Summary: Harima disappeared five years before the reunion to wander around the world... What happened? A fanfic series about his journey from small-time manga writer to traveler. Please review this, good or bad, so I can improve. And I hope you enjoy this fanfic!
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning Of The Near End

**Author's Note**

Hello, this is Marc Roland. This is my first (published) fanfiction. I've attempted many, only to give up or fail. But I shall once again, take up the pen. Or, shall I say, keyboard? In any case, thank you for reading "The Five Year Journey", by me, Marc Roland. By the way, that's not my real name. If that is someone's real name, which it probably is, sorry. I used a random name generator.

Well, to start off, this is the introduction/explanation and whatnot of "The Five-Year Journey". It is a fanfiction, starting from the end of School Rumble, pretty much. It begins around the time that Harima stays at the Tsukamoto household with Sara and Yakumo. This is an explanation of Harima's "purification" journey.

I don't know how long I intend it to be. Hopefully, you guys who are reading this will like it and give me some feedback/opinions. If the feedback is good, I'll probably keep writing more. I'll end it in 10 chapters, though, as I have school to deal with. But again, more reviews and/or feedback will result in more chapters. So it's all in your hands, guys.

Note, I do have a life, so I may not write/update every day or anything. But I generally will have a weekly upload on Sunday. That is, until school starts. Then I have football in the fall and track in the spring. On days that I have nothing to do, I'll probably continue writing. So depending on how it will be, I might have monthly updates instead. Check the Chapter Ending Notes for info about how it is, and for random bits and stuff. Read it, there might be something that affects the fate of this story. Again, I state:

1) More Reviews  
2) More Chapters  
3) ??  
4) Profit!

Oh, a word of warning. This story is rated T, just in case. It probably won't go past suggestive themes, chances are. But who knows? This story is somewhat driven by user feedback. If you say there should be something, tell me and I'll think about it. Alright, now to really start the story.

**I hope you enjoy "The Five-Year Journey"!**

**Legal Mumbo Jumbo:** I do not own any rights relating to anything about School Rumble. The only thing that belongs to me is the story of this fan fiction. If the story or my own characters bear any resemblance to anything already published, it is a coincidence. Do not copy this story onto any other site other than without my knowledge.

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_Harima: "Someday... A man that loves you will appear... And that man will be miserable."_

_Unknown Voice: "Why is that?"_

_Harima: "That... is a man's will. For sure, that guy... will try to take you back from the Karasuma-kun that you had fallen in love with. Keep that in mind for the rest of your life..."_

Harima jolted up immediately from his deep sleep, in a cold sweat. He was staying at the Tsukamoto household, once again. Harima thought to himself, for at least the hundredth time, "Was that the right thing to do?" Deep in his heart, there was a lingering, aching pain... He closed his eyes, covering his face.

He said to himself, "Damn... It's too late to change it... But will I regret this? Oh well... It's time for breakfast. Maybe that will get things off my mind..."

Harima got out of his bed and exited the room lazily. Already familiar with the house, he walked through the hallway, where the smell of curry got his mind out of the daze... He made his way into the kitchen to see Yakumo making curry in her school uniform.

Harima greeted cheerily, "Ah, Imōto-san, good morning. The curry smells good."

Yakumo replied quietly, blushing slightly, as she prepared the curry, "Harima-sempai... Good morning. Your breakfast is on the table."

"Thanks, Imōto-san. Say, where's Sara? I haven't heard or seen her since yesterday." Harima said as he took a seat and began eating his breakfast.

Yakumo answered, "She had something to do at school, so I told her to go on ahead, and I would bring her lunch..."

But the truth was that Sara had lied and left for school to let Yakumo and Harima spend some time alone. Still in a slight daze, he nodded and continued munching away. Harima was still distracted by his dream. Yakumo sensed that he was disturbed, but did not say anything, nor did she want to. She finished making the curry and put it into bento boxes.

"Harima-senpai..." Yakumo mumbled.

While his mind was aloft, he replied, "Hm?"

"If you're heading to school... I made a bento for you... Don't forget it, I'll leave it on the counter..." Yakumo told him.

"Oh... Yeah, alright... Thanks, Imōto-san..." Harima replied nonchalantly.

Yakumo exited the kitchen hurriedly, then left for school, forgetting the boxes in the kitchen. Harima finished his meal quietly and began washing his plate when he noticed the boxes sitting on the counter.

He thought, "Imōto-san left her lunches here... I guess I'll go to school and deliver them. Though I wasn't planning on going to school, I can't leave her lunches here... Or it'll have gone to waste."

Harima got out of his clothes and changed into his school uniform. He grabbed his manga manuscript and drawings in his left hand, went into the kitchen and grabbed the lunches with his right hand. He slipped on his shoes and walked off to school.

**END CHAPTER 1!**

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**Ending Note**

I hope you enjoyed Chapter 1 of "The Five Year Journey"? Sorry about the super long author's note. Please, give me reviews. If you liked it, if you didn't, what you want to see, or whatever you'd like to say about my fanfic. I don't care if you tell me you hate it, but tell me what you'd like me to improve on.

PS: Keeping with the story, there won't be ANY mutual love relationships involving the main characters. This is the way of School Rumble, so this is the way of my story. So YakumoxHarima, ErixHarima or (insert pairing here) shippers or whatever, sorry to disappoint you. Also, besides the telling of Harima's journey through the world... There will be short side stories about what goes on while certain events occur, like the sharp/flat notes in the manga.

For example, as Harima journeys through America, there'll be little stories in a side chapter about Tenma and Karasuma, or Eri, Mikoto and Akira. Or Yakumo and her friends. Or even Imadori, Ichijou and Lala! But that's all up to you guys. On certain chapters, I'll have a mini poll in the ending note where you can PM me your choice, and the most popular vote will get the chapter written about them! Or I'll just decide myself, sometimes... Because it'll be hard to read a bunch of PMs... That is, if I get any... Anyway, ON TO CHAPTER 2!


	2. Chapter 2: First Day Back

**Author's Note**

August 14, 2008, 1:05 AM. I just heard a loud tire screeching or something... I still have two football practices tomorrow... But I guess I can stay up for a small chapter... I don't wanna stay up for 24 hours. I can't go past 24 hours, or if I end up passing out, I'll REALLY be knocked out. I need like 10-12 hours of sleep after that. Anyway, I've decided to start all my chapters with either a flashback in a certain character's mind. And thanks to a reviewer, this chapter will be a bit longer! And before I forget, the day I upload a new chapter from now on will probably be Monday. I've been slowing down my writing, because I have two practices for football. So I'm trying to catch up by finishing this chapter and doing a lot of work on the next one.

**Legal Mumbo Jumbo:** I do not own any rights relating to anything about School Rumble. The only thing that belongs to me is the story of this fan fiction. If the story or my own characters bear any resemblance to anything already published, it is a coincidence. Do not copy this story onto any other site other than without my knowledge.

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_?: Is this the end of the line?_

_Harima: Yeah._

_?: You'll never fall in love again?_

_Harima: Never._

As Harima lazily walked to school with his manga and Yakumo's bento boxes, he thought back to the conversation with Itoko. Never fall in love...? Not even if Tenma gave up on Karasuma and came running into his arms? Was he merely acting tough or did he truly mean it?

He was lost in his thoughts, as he headed for the school, until a loud crash coming from the street up ahead alerted him. He looked at the source of the sound and started walking towards it. He saw Imadori running to school, sporting a large smile on his face, while Suō chased him. Ignoring the scene, he continued strolling towards the school at a leisurely pace.

Eventually, Harima reached the school, arriving 10 minutes late. He stood outside his classroom, with his hands occupied by the food and his manuscript. He heard a guy shout, "Harima's not coming to school anymore! Great! I won't have to deal with him any more." Harima tensed up as he heard another person respond, "Yeah. I'm glad he's gone." Severely annoyed, Harima kicked the door open to see Eri standing in front of him. In the background, he saw the familiar class of 2-C. Their homeroom teacher, Tani-sensei was in the background, taking roll.

He said casually, "Eh? Ojou... Can you help me? I can't do anything with this food and... file in my hands. Can you take the food for me?"

"Sure... Thanks for listening back then, Hige..." Eri answered quietly as she took the boxes off his hands, placing them at his desk. After leaving the boxes at Harima's desk, she left the classroom.

"Eh? Oh, yeah, no problem..." Harima replied. Thinking to himself, he wondered what he would do with the boxes. He decided that he would just give them to Yakumo and Sara at lunch. Harima took his seat and lay his head on the desk, facing away from the window and closed his eyes. Soon after, he heard a familiar laughter... It sounded just like Tenma's! He jolted up and turned to the window to see Tenma sitting at her desk.

Harima thought to himself, "Wouldn't it be nice if Tenma-chan was really here...?"

To his surprise, Tenma greeted cheerily, "Good morning, Harima-kun!"

Overcome by an impulse, he caressed Tenma's cheek. She felt real. Harima shouted in excitement, "I love you!"

The whole class fell into a state of shock and silence. He slowly came to his senses to see himself caressing Eri's cheek! Harima panicked, moved his hand and thought, "Damn, what the hell?!"

He had fallen asleep after sitting down, and imagined that Eri was Tenma. Eri was surprised, and blushed slightly. She asked, "What are you saying here, Hige?"

With the whole class silent, he looked at the clock and saw that it was the start of lunch time. He took the boxes and his manga, then shuffled out of the room to head for Yakumo's class. In his mind, he frantically searched for a way out of this situation. Knowing the class, they misunderstood the scene and thought that Harima confessed to Eri. Once again, he would be thrust into an awkward situation. He walked up to Yakumo's classroom entrance and slid the door open with his foot. He walked through the doorway and found Yakumo and Sara sitting at a couple of rearranged desks with their friends, chatting.

He quickly strolled up to them and placed the boxes onto Yakumo's desk. He said quietly, "Hey, Imōto-san. You forgot these..."

Yakumo quietly replied, "Thanks..."

He began to take a seat next to Yakumo and started to eat his lunch. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and her friends began to whisper amongst themselves. He ignored them and continued to eat his lunch. He finished his lunch and the bell was going to ring in a couple of minutes. The students began to arrange the desks, and Harima helped out.

When he finished rearranging the seats, he quickly pulled aside Yakumo and whispered into her ear, "Imōto-san, can you meet me on the rooftop after school?"

Yakumo blushed a little and answered, "Sure..."

As he turned to leave, Eri appeared out of nowhere and slapped Harima abruptly on his right cheek. Without a word coming from her mouth, she stormed off and left school for the rest of the day. Both Harima and Yakumo had a look of surprise on their face. A confused Harima continued the rest of the school day with a stinging red handprint on the right side of his face.

**END CHAPTER 2!**

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**Ending Note**

Hey guys! Holy smokes. I've had this written out for a while, and I couldn't decide how to end this chapter, but I decided to leave it as it is. Yeah, I apologize, super short again. But I've been so busy with football that I haven't had the time to really think it out carefully. It might be a bit crappy. Now I understand what manga artists/writers feel like. Anyway, I am truly and deeply sorry for the delay, it's been almost a month now, I believe! I apologize for my failure to deliver. I am a horrible FedEx deliveryboy.

Again, for about the third time, sorry that this unannounced hiatus came. I feel like the writer of Training Wheels, trying to juggle your life with your writing/drawing. By the way, if you don't know what TW is, it is a now-cancelled webcomic that was published on Snafu Comics. By the way, they have some interesting comics/doujinshi. You could read some of the comics there. Though avoid Sticky Floors if you're under 18. I don't keep up with any except Bleedman's Grim Tales from Down Below.

Anyway... Off that little rant, and onto another thing. Though I'm not sure how many people actually read this fanfic, I'm trying my hardest to play football, handle my classes and finishing my homework all at the same time. And now, I announce my official hiatus. . I'll be slowly working on the story slowly. And if you're wondering what's up with the ambiguous ending... Well, it wasn't too carefully planned out, but it'll be explained in the next chapter, which will be a flat chapter. So it'll be shorter than my chapters so far. I'll try to stretch chapter 3, but it'll be a while before that comes out.

Well, I hoped you enjoyed what was a half-baked attempt at a longer chapter. TT So, I hope to do you guys a favor and write a longer, better chapter 3. Please, if you can and feel like it, send in reviews or comments, whatever. Just no pronz.


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